ABOUT
Vera Bullen
BA, MADS, MCPA, NCPT
Director, Instructor & Facilitator
Specialties: new clients, athletes, dancers and performing artists, prehab and rehab, trauma-informed movement, healthy aging, balance training, functional movement, business and instructor mentoring.
Vera, a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher, has been teaching dance and Pilates for 32+ years! She wants her clients to build strength and endurance, and improve mobility and balance in order to enjoy life "with zest and pleasure" (Joseph Pilates). Her private lesson and duet sessions are client-focused and provide full-body workouts while managing any chronic injuries and conditions. As a Pilates teacher trainer for 12+ years, Vera has a wealth of knowledge to share in professional development sessions with Pilates instructors and Pilates-based physical therapists.
Vera graduated with a Comprehensive Pilates Certificate from Vitality Pilates' Teacher Training Academy in 2010. She is a member of both the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science and the Performing Arts Medicine Association, and has presented at IADMS and PAMA conferences. Vera is also a Pilates Method Alliance member, serves on the PMA research committee, and is a volunteer practitioner for the Seattle Dance and Performing Arts Medicine free injury clinic.
What is Pilates?
Pilates Method Alliance Website
Pilates (pronounced puh-lah-teez and not pie-lates) is a method of exercise and physical movement designed to stretch, strengthen, and balance the body.
Having emigrated to the US in 1926, Joseph Pilates and his wife Clara taught in their New York City studio serving a small and devoted list of clients in relative obscurity. In recent decades however, the Pilates Method has been embraced by mainstream culture around the world, and the word “Pilates” is now a household name.
Pilates classes are most commonly delivered in three formats – group Mat classes, group Reformer classes, and private or small group studio classes where the client works on the full range of apparatus Pilates invented, such as the Reformer, Trapeze Table, Ladder Barrel, Wunda Chair or Spine Corrector.
In recent decades, Pilates has achieved recognition and embrace by mainstream culture; it has made its way to stardom having been adopted by top celebrities; Reformer classes are popular in gyms, studios and health centers; and Pilates Mat classes now offer another option for those seeking relaxation and the benefits of exercise. The word Pilates is no longer strange to most people, and the recognition is global. With systematic practice of specific exercises coupled with focused breathing patterns, Pilates has proven itself invaluable not only as a fitness endeavor, but also as an important adjunct to professional sports training and physical rehabilitation of all kinds.
Honoring My Lineage & Legacy
My Pilates lineage can be traced from Joseph Pilates to Romana Kryzanowska to Mari Winsor to Jane Erskine to Hilery Avritt to Vera Bullen.
My ballet legacy can be traced from George Balanchine to Janet Reed (mother of Jane Erskine above) to Francia Russell to Vera Bullen.
My European modern dance legacy can be traced from Rudolph Laban to Marion North to Valerie Preston-Dunlop to Vera Bullen.
My dance pedagogy legacy can be traced from Joan Skinner and Hannah Wiley to Vera Bullen.
★★★★★
Private Pilates session with Vera is amazing. She is very knowledgeable and great to work with!!
Jeanette E.
★★★★★
If you are new to Pilates or have been practicing Pilates for years, if you are healthy or are injured, Vera will meet your needs. She has the knowledge and experience to create countless workouts to meet people where they are and help them to become stronger, all while having fun. A year ago, I cracked a rib and was in considerable discomfort, especially when I moved. I didn’t want to lose strength during my recovery. Several people told me it wouldn’t be possible to continue with Pilates during my recovery. Vera saw how motivated I was and accepted the challenge. She created workouts tailored to my needs and limitations that were increasingly challenging as my recovery progressed and which did not cause pain. In fact, each week I left the studio feeling better than when I entered. Vera encourages and affirms each of her clients. Her ever cheerful personality brightens the gloomiest of Seattle’s gray, winter days.
Mary Beth H.